With international travel suspended and many countries on lockdown, many individuals will find themselves stuck in the UK and at risk of overstaying their limit - potentially ending up with an unexpected tax bill at the end of it.
The usual situation is that if any of the following apply an individual is treated as conclusively resident in the UK:
When an individual spends fewer than 16 days in the UK in the tax year (6 April to 5 April), they will be conclusively non-UK tax resident. This limit is extended to 46 days if the individual has not been UK resident in any of the preceding three tax years.
If an individual is neither conclusively resident in the UK, nor conclusively non-resident, then the number of days they can spend in the UK will be decided according to how many 'ties' they have to the UK. For example, whether they have family, a home or work here.
However, HMRC has discretion to discount days spent in the UK if the individual’s presence in the UK is due to 'exceptional circumstances' beyond their control. This will usually only apply to events that occur while an individual is in the UK and that prevent them from leaving the UK.
HMRC has issued recent guidance on this point and has confirmed that, if the following circumstances apply to an individual due to coronavirus, they will be considered 'exceptional':
It is important to note that HMRC will consider this on a case-by-case basis - the disregard for exceptional circumstances is not automatically granted. Individuals hoping to take advantage of the exceptional circumstances exception must leave the UK as soon as possible once restrictions are lifted.
There is a limit on the number of days in a tax year that can be considered exceptional, of 60 days, which is set by law. At the moment, there has not been guidance from HMRC about whether the 60 day limit will be changed. Further guidance on this point is expected if lockdown continues into June (by 5 June we will be 60 days into the new tax year). However, if no change is made affected individuals may want to reduce the number of days they spend in the UK later in the tax year.
Individuals affected by this situation should gather as much evidence as possible to demonstrate why they have been forced to remain in the UK, especially if they could have left before the lockdown started. This could include the need to quarantine because of coronavirus symptoms in the household, or the illness of a close family member. Individuals who are working while spending additional days in the UK should take extra care. If there are 40 or more days on which the individual does three or more hours of work in the UK then this will result in an extra 'tie' and will reduce the number of days overall that the individual can spend in the UK during the tax year in question.